Dilys Budd talks about her early life in Wales; being in a foster home followed by the Nazareth House orphanage; her mother's visits and death; the orphanage routine, their basic education; orphanage funding; after school activities; the selection of children for Australia; the nuns and benefactors; effects of WWII; leaving for Australia (1947), the voyage and arrival in Western Australia; St Joseph's Girls Orphanage, Sisters of Mercy, child-staff ratio; institutionalization; relations between migrant and non-migrant children; the daily routine; welfare inspections; the smells and sounds of the orphanage; the maternity wing and unmarried mothers; medical and dental care; deaths in the orphanage; schooling at St Mary's School, classrooms; the special classes for brighter girls leading to office work; no preparation for post-institution life; childhood and adult perceptions of religion; orphanage discipline; sexual abuse; bullying; celebrations eg. Christmas; play areas, organized sport, play equipment; films and concerts; working in the foundling home; on leaving the orphanage being allocated employment with the Health Department, learning typing, working on switchboard; placement in accommodation after leaving the orphanage.

Budd talks about escaping the control of Catholic Child Welfare; joining the Army Nursing Corps; attending night school; her reasons for leaving Perth; the lack of public awareness of institutionalized children; the closure of institutions; the funding of her return to the UK (1997); family reunions and publicity; arriving in Melbourne, working in Kew Mental Asylum; later work in the Taxation Department; meeting her future husband and their successful marriage; motherhood and learning parenting; telling her children about her childhood; returning to Nazareth House, UK; her identity documents and Australian citizenship; the move to Canberra (1965); joining the Department of Trade (1970), her retirement and return to work in Department of Foreign Affairs; her husband's work; contact with former child migrants; the compensation by Western Australian Government to institutionalized children; her reaction to British Government's apology; her views on removal and the Catholic Church's apology; the Senate inquiry; advocacy groups; attending the Australian Government's apology to the Forgotten Australians; reunion with friends from Perth; rejecting the term 'Forgotten Australians'; the similarities and differences between the child migrants' experiences and those of the Stolen Generation.

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Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. All users of the catalogue should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.